Creative Playthings

Initially, Frank Caplan made hardwood building blocks himself to sell in their store, often cutting and sanding the sets while parents waited in the shop.

Caplan believed that providing unpainted abstract forms that emphasized shape, color and texture, as opposed to lifelike details, would stimulate a child’s imagination.

The exhibit was a tremendous success and received considerable publicity, including praise from Eleanor Roosevelt, who commented, "I particularly like the children's playroom with nothing but those hollow blocks which could be made into furniture and still remain toys.

"[2] An article in The New Yorker also praised Creative Playthings' designs for their innovative and unconventional approach: "If the present kindergarten generation develops, when it has grown up, some rather horrid mass psychosis, I shall certainly be the first to blame it on the general vulgarity of the nursery decoration that our young exposed to.

Parents who share my mistrust of cloying pink or blue color schemes, of the ubiquitous Donald Duck motif, and of the sort of furniture that looks like stunted examples of humdrum pieces should by all means investigate the nursery paraphernalia to be found at Creative Playthings.

[2] In 1954, Frank Caplan began a close collaboration with Swiss toymaker Antonio Vitali to design a series of "Playforms" - smooth sculpted animals, vehicles, and figures in wood that fit neatly into a child's hands.

The abstract "Playforms" became signature pieces of Creative Playthings and were highly praised by numerous design magazines and organizations, such as Interiors and Arts and Architecture.